CNN: Japan’s pop music impresario.

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ABC Australia: Japan delayed release of radiation details

A Japanese government official has admitted information about the spread of radiation from Fukushima was provided to the United States more than a week before it was given to the Japanese public.
The official from the Science and Technology Policy Bureau says the government passed the information to the US military first in a bid to get its support in helping with the crisis.

Japanese Box Office: Jan 7 – Jan 13, 2012

Number 1: Movie: Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol Weekend Box Office (US$): $4,313,322 Cumulative Take (US$): $50,703,521 Fourth Week at No. 1

Oricon Top 10 Singles for the Week of Jan 2 – Jan 8, 2011:

Number 1: Artist: NYC/Nakayama Yuma Song: Wonderful Cupid Units Sold: 40,399 Up 3 spots to No. 1 this week

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Photo Source: Seattle PI.

Seattle PI: Japan Airlines debuts Hello Kitty Boeing 777

Japan Airlines unveiled a Hello Kitty-themed ‘Hellosmile’ Boeing 777-300 at Tokyo Haneda Airport on Friday, Jan. 13, 2012. JAL, TOKYO FM Broadcasting and Hello Kitty parent Sanrio Co. joined in the effort to promote cervical cancer awareness and prevention.

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Business Week: Noda Says Japan Must Heed Lessons of Europe Credit Downgrades

Europe’s fiscal situation “isn’t a house burning on the other side of the river,” Noda said on TV Tokyo Holdings Corp.’s program on Jan. 14. “We must have a great sense of crisis.”

Japan’s government, which has enjoyed borrowing costs that are around 1 percent, wouldn’t be able to manage its finances if bond yields surged to 3 percent, Noda said last week. The country risks seeing a spike in government bond yields unless it controls a debt load set to approach 230 percent of gross domestic product in 2013, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Nov. 28.

Oricon Top 10 Albums for Week of Jan 2, – Jan 8, 2012

Number 1: Artist: Exile/Exile Atsushi Album: Exile Japan/Solo Units Sold: 151,511 2nd Week at No. 1 BUY in Japan: BUY from Overseas:

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Oricon Top 10 Albums for Week of Dec 26, 2011 – Jan 1, 2012

Number 1: Artist: Exile/Exile Atsushi Album: Exile Japan/Solo Units Sold: 350,277 1st Week at No. 1 BUY in Japan: BUY from Overseas:

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Wall Street Journal: Honda CEO: We Were Jinxed

“We were jinxed,” Honda President Takanobu Ito told reporters at the Detroit auto show Monday. Mr. Ito said that when people hit a certain age in Japan, they have bad fortune “no matter what you do. You have to go to a shrine to get rid of it.”

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Wall Street Journal: Geithner Prods China, Japan on Iran Oil Imports

“We are in the early stages of a broad global diplomatic effort to take advantage of this new legislation to significantly intensify the pressure on Iran,” a senior U.S. official said. “We are telling them [the Chinese] what’s important to us and they are listening.”"We have a reasonable shot at getting a number of countries to wean themselves off Iranian oil.”

Japanese Box Office: Dec 31, 2011 – Jan 6, 2012

Number 1: Movie: Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol Weekend Box Office (US$): $4,273,363 Cumulative Take (US$): $36,104,406 Third Week at No. 1